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There’s little incentive
to conserve water
If you’re wanting to remove your lawn to save water, don’t.
In 2014, we removed both the front and back lawn in favor of a patio and shrubs. We saved 54% over 2013 usage. That was doing the right thing? Wrong. Now Contra Costa Water District wants us to save 15% over 2020 usage. We get no credit for the huge investment we already made to save water. Our 2022 usage is 41% below 2013 but 7% higher than 2020.
All the people who kept their lawns and wasted water for nine years can achieve 15%. We can’t without harming our garden, and we’ll probably be penalized if we don’t reduce.
If they want people to make changes to reduce their future usage, they should find a way to not penalize them in the future. Measure us against our usage before we made changes, not current usage.
Michael Stewart
Oakley
Support by Contra Costa
official raises red flag
I was amazed to see the Contra Costa auditor-controller, Robert Campbell, endorse our Humboldt County auditor-controller, Karen Paz Dominguez. Why? Because our auditor-controller has been censured by our Board of Supervisors after they previously gave her a vote of no confidence. She has also received a similar vote from another county board. Many county department heads, elected and appointed, also sent the board a letter stating their lack of confidence in her abilities. Perhaps being late with paychecks is an indicator of things being amiss.
It is not just a local problem as the state auditor threatened her with a $5,000 fine if she did not turn in a report that was a year overdue.
Why is what is going on in Humboldt County of concern to Mr. Campbell? Well, if your auditor-controller thinks this work product is worthy of an endorsement maybe someone should think twice about his work.
John Murray
Arcata
Cook-Kallio will keep
charters in fiscal line
Thank you for clearing up who we should not vote for Alameda County Board of Education (“Dillie is best for Alameda County education board,” Page A6, April 20). The paper has a history of supporting the growth of charter schools and is consistent in opposing the front lines of public education, teachers and their unions.
The paper has given specious reasons for its endorsement. It stated that the only reason not to support Cook-Kallio was a statement she made in which she said the job included oversight of the financial status of districts. The editorial said that was not the board’s job. In fact, AB 1505 includes county board consideration of whether charter school appeals from school district’s denial of their applications is warranted based on their fiscal distress.
Why don’t you state the real reason you oppose Cook-Kallio: She will be no friend to the charter industry.
David Weintraub
Oakland
Biden’s low ratings
belie his good job
Re. “Is a Biden bloodbath in the cards for Democrats in the midterms?” Page A7, April 19:
I’m trying to understand why President Biden has low ratings. He saved us from a tyrant, saved us from a country of the rich, by the rich, for the rich.
I was so afraid we were going to lose our democracy. He did not need to step up, but he did. Since then the Republicans have fought him tooth and nail. Still, he got the infrastructure law through.
President Biden got us some help from the government with coronavirus tests. I am so grateful we got the man who could restore our friendships in the world and who is there for Ukraine.
Diann Hillerman
Oakland
In the marketplace
of ideas, GOP absent
I rarely agree with Christopher Andrus, but I do agree with his concern about a one-party democracy (“Single-party dominance is bad for democracy,” Page A6, April 20). This country was founded on principles and ideas that need debate and honest struggle. I imagine most of the people Andrus “challenges” on the Berkeley campus expect reality-based arguments and ideas about how to improve lives and society. Republicans offer no such thing.
There is no evidence, at least since 2016, that the Republican Party is interested in democracy, governance or even fair play. Looking only at their actions in Congress and in statehouses, they are held together by nothing other than conspiracy theories, fear of anyone unlike themselves, and cowardice. In 2020, the party chose not to create a platform because they are simply out of ideas and principles.
There’s obviously an audience for this nonsense, but it’s unlikely to be found among people who think.
Michael Moore
Walnut Creek
Source: www.mercurynews.com